


Sink or Swim

by Clicko



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, M/M, can be read as gen or pairing really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4661652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clicko/pseuds/Clicko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Donquixote Doflamingo…notorious pirate, underworld broker, king, mastermind, idiot about to drown,</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sink or Swim

 

Doflamingo carefully stuck his head through the doorway, quickly scanning the corridors on either side to make sure they were empty. Deciding that the area was abandoned for the time being, he leapt out of the room he had been staying (not hiding!) in for the past hour.

The day was absolutely sweltering. People were strewn about in the gardens, desperately clinging to whatever shade they could find under the palm trees and by the castle walls. The pool at the front entrance was dangerously full, with everyone not hindered by the drawback of Devil Fruit abilities flocking to the cool bodies of water in hopes of escaping the heat.

As for the current king of Dressrosa, he, too, had formed a strategy to cool himself down, and was about to set this plan in motion.

He strode quickly through the hallway, moving towards the back of the castle. Down a flight of spiraling stairs, a door to the left, another corridor, and…goal.

A pool, small and secret, hidden away at the back of the castle and quickly forgotten by those who had once stumbled upon it. But Doflamingo had remembered this small oasis of peace and refreshment, and now, he would be able to enjoy his day without suffering from the intense heat.

Of course, having a Devil Fruit ability meant he wouldn't be able to swim in the water, or even move very much should he get in too deep, but as long as he was careful, it should be perfectly fine. Totally safe. As if someone like him would trip and drown in a swimming pool like some clown, like…

He shook his head and forced his thoughts away from that particular association. No, he would just take it slow and easy and maintain a healthy respect for the water. If any of his executives or family members had been aware of his plan this particular moment, he knew for a fact he would not have gotten a moment's peace. He grimaced as he imagined his entire hodgepodge family gathered around the pool, sweating and worrying and telling him to be careful, if not downright clinging to him and not letting him go into the water.

He sighed. He knew they meant well, but surely he didn't need a horde of bodyguards to just walk around a bit in shallow water.

He was already wearing shorts, and only had to slip off his shirt and shoes and drop his feather coat on the ground before approaching the edge of the pool.

He sank down to his knees by the edge of the shallowest end, tentatively placing one of his legs into the water. Oh, but the temperature was perfect. He awarded himself a brief round of mental applause for thinking up this brilliant idea and executing it in such a flawless manner, before sinking into the water completely. Well, as far as his enormous body would go, at least. On this side, the water level only came up to just below his knees. All part of the plan, though. Remaining mindful of the depth would be crucial in this situation. Control was key.

He started to make his way through the water, figuring he'd be safe enough if he let the water come up to at least reach his thighs. The sunlight was reflecting off the water, and combined with the faint sound of seagulls and waves crashing to the shore around the island, it created a downright lovely atmosphere. Peace and quiet.

“Doffy.”

Doflamingo jumped, nearly losing his footing on the pool floor. His first instinct was to whirl around to face whoever had snuck up on him, but he managed to override the reflex and avoided slipping and drowning like an idiot in the shallow water.

He turned around slowly and steadily and was met with the sight of his former heart executive standing by the edge of the pool, carrying…  
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, wearing the single most offended look he could muster up as he considered the items Vergo had brought along.

“Forget it. I'm not using any of those things and you know it.”

Vergo narrowed his eyes behind his shades and came closer to the edge, looking like he was about to get in and walk straight over to where Doflamingo was standing in the water. “We shall see about that.”

“Vergo…you're still wearing all your clothes, you know.” Vergo paused. “Oh, you're right. I am wearing all my clothes.” He took off his coat (how on earth he managed to walk around in that thing in this temperature, Doflamingo really couldn't say) and stripped down to his underwear with frightful speed, leaving Doflamingo very little time to think of a way out of this predicament. He opted for wading farther into the water, thinking he'd go all the way over to the other side of the pool and scoot along the edge to avoid his pursuer, failing to notice how he had suddenly entered the fairly deep area. The water now rose above his stomach and almost to his chest, and he found himself panting just a little from the effort of keeping his legs moving, feeling utterly exhausted from spending so much time submerged.

By the time he stopped to catch his breath, he discovered he had reached the center of the pool, with no immediate surface to grab on to should he fall or suddenly lose his strength entirely.

That gave him pause.

“Uh…Vergo?” he turned around with a sheepish grin. “You, uh…you wanna come over and join me after all? Right here in the middle? It's nice.”

Vergo was sitting on the edge by the ladder leading down to the deepest end of the water, having anticipated his captain's plan of action. It was also fairly easy to walk over there unnoticed because Doflamingo had been so focused on maintaining his balance as he tried to escape the fate awaiting him on land.

“You're stuck, aren't you.”

“No…I'm just saying, the water's very refreshing.”

Silence.

“Alright _fine_ just _…_ come help me _._ ”

Vergo sighed. “Well…” he kicked the surface, making a few splashes with his feet as he pondered. “…no.”  
  
“ _No?_ ” He made a small noise meant to be laughter that came out as more of a nervous squeak.

“Vergo, come on, I-” he took a small step backwards thinking he'd try to get back to where he had started this stupid little journey and slipped, resulting in his arms flailing wildly and trying to grab onto something in a mild panic before he regained his footing and stopped moving entirely, body frozen, his legs far apart and arms stretched out to either side to steady himself. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he gasped, trying to calm down from what had felt like a near-death experience.

It wasn't, though, of course not. Vergo was right there, and would come to his rescue immediately should something happen. Still, the sudden dread was hard to chase away once it had settled, and the prospect of remaining in this death trap of a pool any longer was not very tempting, heat and discomfort on land be damned.

But he suddenly found he had a hard time getting his body to move at all. The prolonged submersion had cost him his energy, and the spike of fear from before had effectively paralyzed his limbs to the point where he had to concentrate on just remaining upright.

“V-Vergo.”

Vergo looked up from the surface he had been inspecting while Doflamingo struggled against the water and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

“Yes, Doffy?”

Doflamingo, defeated, let his arms fall to his sides, even though that meant dipping them into the water.

“I can't swim. I shouldn't have gone into the pool alone or without any of those…” he gestured at the various flotation devices Vergo had brought along. “… _things,_ it was a stupid idea _._ Now will you please help me get out of here before I manage to drown myself?”

Vergo considered his request for a moment before beaming at him, grabbing a few of the rings he had piled up beside him. “Since you managed to waddle so far into the deep end, it'll be difficult to swim you back because you're so big. So-” he grabbed the equipment and slid into the water, maneuvering over to Doflamingo's side with a few quick strokes. “you're gonna have to wear this.”

Doflamingo felt his face burn, pride suffering from this whole ordeal, but obediently lifted his arms and let Vergo slide the huge pool ring over his head. He immediately grabbed on to the soft plastic surface and collapsed over it, letting out a sigh of relief as he no longer had to fight to keep standing. He let Vergo paddle them over to the edge he had been sitting on, and didn't even protest as his body was slowly covered in as many floatation devices Vergo could manage to fit on him. Arm rings, two on one arm, one on the other (“Where did the last one go?” “It's on your face, you were blowing them up earlier.” “oh, you're right.”), a slightly too small vest with a little shark fin on the back (“The vest is overdoing it, don't you think?” “What if the arm rings pop? You'll wear it and you'll appreciate it.”) and finally, swimming goggles.

“Why the goggles? You think I'm gonna do any diving?”

“It's chlorinated water, Doffy. You should protect your eyes.”

Doflamingo didn't feel like arguing, the fight had gone out of him around the time he was forced into the third arm ring. For now, he was content just floating around, Vergo latched onto the ring around his body and remaining close, just in case. Just in case the ring, the three arm rings and the vest should somehow fail to keep him afloat.

A thought struck him. “How did you even know where I was? I didn't tell anyone I was going here.”

Vergo didn't even stir from where he was resting with his head on the ring. He mumbled “Your coat is shedding. You leave a trail of feathers everywhere you go, it's not too hard to figure out.”

Doflamingo glared over at his traitorous jacket. “So it was an inside job…”

Vergo snorted and turned around, opting to float on his back as he laughed at the comment.

“Still, you had to be looking for me.”

“What can I say, I had a feeling you were up to something stupid. Like bothering a large animal, or drinking yourself into a stupor on a hot day. Or going for a fucking swim when you know you can't move in water.”

Doflamingo swatted the surface, sending a splash towards the other. “Hilarious. I'll have you know, I had everything under control before you showed up and made me lose track of how far I was going.”

“Would you rather I hadn't shown up at all?”  
“…shut up.” He grabbed Vergo's arm and lifted it from the water, placing a kiss on the back of his hand before linking their fingers together, lazily sinking back down to rest on the edge of his pool ring.


End file.
